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The Levy County School Board has cancelled its contract with its first choice for construction of the new Williston Middle High School and is now negotiating with its second ranked choice for the project.

The vote to end talks with Gilbane Building Company's Jacksonville unit came during the Tuesday, Feb. 10 board meeting and was unanimous.

Friday, Feb. 13, was not a bad luck day for state Rep. Charlie Stone (R-Ocala), whose 22nd District is made up of all of Levy County and a portion of western Marion County.

Florida House Majority Leader Dana Young (R-Tampa) and Majority Whip Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) on Friday announced the appointment of Stone and fellow state Reps. Colleen Burton (R-Lakeland), Julio Gonzalez (R-Venice) and David Santiago (R-Deltona) as House Majority Deputy Whips for the 2015-2016 legislative term.

Ken Ihlenfeldt, owner of Pegasus Farms, located just outside of Bronson, was special guest speaker at the Feb. 12 meeting of the Suwannee Valley Rotary.

Ihlenfeldt's farm specializes in aquaponics, a type of farm production that raises fish and various vegetable crops that use the waste from the fish as fertilizer. The method is more efficient than many types of agriculture and can be done without adding pesticides and fertlizers.

The farm will, in the near future, also be set up to hold classes for people wanting to set up their own aquaponics operations.

QuitDoc and the statewide Tobacco Free Florida Program are raising awareness about the dangers of smokeless tobacco, like chew and dip, to help combat this deadly addiction. “Through With Chew Week”, a national public awareness campaign created to reduce the use of smokeless tobacco among young people, takes place Feb. 15-21, with the Great American Spit Out on Feb.19.

For about two hours Friday morning, residents from around the county crowded into the county's commision meeting room to pay homage to a handful of the area's black leaders and community members that have made a difference throughout the years.

The event, organized by area historian and artist Carolyn Cohens and Clerk of Court Danny Shipp, has been taking place for years in honor of Black History Month.

The Levy County Drug Task Force — acting on tips from the public and provided through Crime Stoppers — located and dismantled a methamphetamine lab in the Ocala Highlands West area and arrested a Morriston man. More arrests are expected in the case.

The actions came in its investigation of individuals making and selling meth, according to a Levy County Sheriff's Office press release.